Marfino

a country estate in Mytishchi Raion, Moscow Oblast. Built in the 18th and 19th centuries, it is located on the dammed Ucha River, which forms two ponds. In the late 17th century, Marfino was owned by B. A. Golitsyn, the tutor and close friend of Peter I. Most of the Marfino ensemble, including its landscaped park and formal garden, dates back to the late 18th century, when the estate belonged to the Saltykovs; two blocks of kennels and two elegant classicist summer houses have been preserved from this period. The church was built between 1701 and 1707 by the serf architect V. Belozerov. In 1837 and 1838 the architect M. S. Bykovskii built the main house, the front staircase, the walkway to the pier, the bridge, and the outbuildings in a pseudo-Gothic style for the new owner, S. V. Panina. The estate is now used as a sanatorium.